Fog Lights running hot!

[CamBOT]

Hello guys,

I got a pair of ebay fog lights with H3 bulbs. The housing is made up of cast iron and the front is covered in thick glass. I am going to install these in the front air dams of my 92 Camry.

When I tested the lights by hooking them to a 12 V source, the bulbs are running very hot. Even on the box it says that the bulbs/housings will get very hot.

So my question is will I ruin my paint by sticking these in the air dams? These lights get pretty hot, too hot to pick up. I never dealt with H3 bulbs before, are they supposed to be this hot. (the current bulbs are 55W H3) Or should I go get a lower wattage H3 so it'll run cooler?

Thanks everyone,

[cruisn76]

yea fog lights do get very hot. I've installed fog light before in the air dam of a Honda and never did I have a problem with it melting or warping the bumper. Keep in mind when you drive the air cools it down, not significant but still, free air is free air to cool.

Go ahead install that mofo, rice it out (j/kin)

[TMetalMan]

They most certainly do run hot. Think about it - 55W bulbs are what you will typically find in a headlight housing, which is much bigger than a foglight housing. Headlights have much more surface area to dissipate heat.

When I installed my foglights, the adhesive would actually become ineffective due to the immense heat that would build up on the housing, and so the foglights wouldn't stay. The foglight kit include swivel mounting brackets intended to be used with screws to mount the foglights, and I just put some double-sided adhesive foam tape (also known as "servo tape" for the other radio-control hobbyists out there) onto the mounting brackets, and then stuck them to the bumper. I've driven with them for a few months and up to 100mph so far, and everything is still holding just fine .

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by cruisn76

yea fog lights do get very hot. I've installed fog light before in the air dam of a Honda and never did I have a problem with it melting or warping the bumper. Keep in mind when you drive the air cools it down, not significant but still, free air is free air to cool.

I am thinking the same thing. If you're driving, and you actually need to use the said fog lights, it should be fine. If you roll around cruising in stop and go city traffic with them on, it could be a problems.

[EEngineer]

pfft...

if i put fogs they'll just break..cuz my cam is too low

lol

[cykaaro]

^ HAHA

I wouldn't worry to much. I've got a set on mine with no problems, but they do get quite hot but never given issues with anything as they should be attached only to the bracket and not touching anything. The biggest thing to really worry about with heat, is if they hit cold. [ie water, snow etc]

Offroading the jeep I've gone through quite a few. Used mainly as what are known as 'rock lights', so when doing water crossings, they can when hitting cold water blow, or crack the glass lenses as going through 2-3ft of water they end up being submerged. Same if you put them into a snow bank.

From experience, as long as you don't do either of those, they run pretty good. I have had a few sets that stood up to water crossings quite well, of which one of is which I have a set on my camry now. Interesting though they're not sealed from water getting in. Regular use of this type of light really shouldn't be too much of an issue, but note that without being sealed from water, at some point down the road they probably will have to be replaced. Even some sealed ones can give the same issues. I just look and get a good price on a set that fits my needs and go from there.

[midnightmach]

You should be okay as long as they arent close to or touching the bumper. I had fogs that got VERY hot, basically the heat destroyed them. Reflective chrome inside peeled up, the glass kept cracking untll they basically shattered into big pieces. very sad...

[CamBOT]

Thanks guys,

I'll do it as soon as I get home. If they get too hot i might just buy lower wattage bulbs or use a dimmer from my old camry and use that as a switch. When i tested the dimmer it goes from 0 - 12V. SO In theory when i am moving I can leave it at 12 V and when i'm park I can run them much lower but still have the colour!

What ya'll think

BTW the bulbs are 2500K yellows.

[cruisn76]

^ that sounds technically good. Never really thought about the dimmer switch. Give it a go...